Harry Potter and the Flame of Obitus
by Stormy1989
Summary: Sequel to Darkest Hour but can stand alone. Year 7 war veils the horizon as the world grows ever darker. And just who do you think your friends are then?
1. A Letter and a Promise

Full Summary:

Harry approaches his seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with NEWT exams, Quidditch and yet another new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher all adding up to just another year of magical education. With the imminent war veiling every horizon, Harry begins to focus at last as the time for him to complete the Prophecy draws ever closer. New friends and old enemies start to show their true colours as allegiances are lost as fast as new ones can be forged. At the root of it all, however, Voldemort has his own plans which he intends to carry out and this time it appears that nothing and no one can stop him.  
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**A/N: Please note, this story is the sequel to 'Harry Potter and the Darkest Hour', so I would suggest you read that one first or this one won't make sense. However, this tale will also be running on from the Half-Blood Prince at the same time so I suppose it could also be viewed as a stand-alone sequel to HBP as well... The first two chapters were written pre HBP but all the later chapters will be HBP complient - just give them time! I hope that all made sense and I really hope you'll enjoy what is to come.**

**In the chapters that are to follow, I hope you will like what has come to be both a blessing and a curse to me over the last few months. As always, comments are welcome as onyl through them can a write improve - oh, plus I make no secret of the fact that I'm a review addict - rest assured that I read every single one of them:)**

**Have fun,**

**Stormy x**

* * *

A Letter and a Promise 

A warm breeze blew through the trees, lifting a few old leaves and scattering them hither and thither over Privet Drive. As the sun began to set it cast a furnace glow over the area as bats to appear; their ultrasonic cries barely audible as they located moths and insects. Nothing moved on Privet Drive; all it's inhabitants either away on holiday or lurking inside out of the mosquito thick air. A strong smell of cut grass lingered and the distinctive smell wafted into the houses through the ajar windows and patio doors. The inhabitants of Number 4 were in the lounge watching the nine o'clock news on their new television. Natalie Graham, the BBC's main reporter, was relaying the news to an audience of millions. 

"… and the Metropolitan Police have cordoned off the area. In a statement released an hour ago by the chief officer in charge, Constable Richard Jones, has made clear that there have been two deaths at this house although the cause of death remains undisclosed. Forensic experts are currently scouring the area and a thirty six year old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is currently being questioned by police…"

"Serves him right," Vernon Dursley growled. "Probably a drunkard. Better off left to rot in some jail."

Petunia Dursley nodded sharply, her thin face twisted in distain. Unusually, her bony hands twisted uncomfortably in her lap and she looked over at a skinny, black haired boy in the corner of the room who was watching the news as if his life depended on it.

"Or," Vernon continued nastily as he looked over at his nephew while completely unaware of his wife's discomfort, "if it's one of _them_, they deserved it anyway, so let the guy who killed them walk free. He deserves a medal."

Harry Potter, the teenager in question, didn't answer as his uncle continued to insult him. Over the past week and a half, Vernon's snide remarks had become progressively wilder and Harry had learnt to tune out the sound of his voice; it just made life easier.

"… just so long as it is nothing to do with that nutter; what's his name, Petunia? Vosemart? Valleford? Voldiford...?"

"Voldemort," Harry supplied tonelessly and Petunia paled slightly, pursing her lips together.

"Yes, him. The man who killed your par-"  
_  
"Vernon! The window!"  
_  
Harry switched off again, trying desperately to catch the last of the report over the Dursleys' mutterings and Dudley's new Game Boy; a gift from his parents for gaining a grade 'G' in maths. The Muggle news was his only source of real news; the Daily Prophet was just full of stories about how Fudge was, unbelievably, still trying to hold on to his job as Minister for Magic.  
_  
"… and this is Natalie Graham, reporting for BBC News from Banbury, Oxon." _

Banbury. That's near Oxford, Harry thought just as he felt a heavy weight dropped into his stomach._ That's barely fifty miles away from here… _Harry shut his eyes briefly before standing up and walking upstairs, ignoring the Dursleys completely. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realise Aunt Petunia was watching him go, an odd expression darkening her face. Vernon Dursley continued ranting while Dudley just stayed engrossed in his Game Boy.

Once in the safety of his room, Harry flopped down onto his bed, his mind reeling. It had been nearly three months since his kidnapping of the year before but the pain he felt as he thought of it was still fresh and sharp. Harry shut his eyes, clenching his fist in a combination of both fear and pain. It had taken his body a long time to recover for the torment inflicted on him by the Death Eaters. His muscles still often contacted painfully as they went into spasm, a direct after effect of the Cruciatus curse, although these aches were mercifully stating to lessen in both frequency and intensity.  
_  
If it hadn't been for the Order, things would have been even worse…  
_  
Dumbledore's resistance to Voldemort, in the form of the Order of the Phoenix, had followed him to Azkaban in a desperate attempt to rescue him. Of the thirty four who had left, seven of them did not return and a further twenty one were hurt, their wounds varying from minor scratches and bruises to grievous, life threatening injuries.  
_  
The worst of the injuries was taken by Snape,_ Harry thought grimly. _Merlin, he's lucky to even be alive.  
_  
Harry stared out of his window lost in thought, the top of the Rowan tree in Number 9's garden just visible.  
_  
And talk of the Devil…  
_  
A tall, almost weedy looking Eagle owl flew in through Harry's window, its dark brown feathers having a slightly greasy sheen to them. Hedwig, sitting on top of Harry's wardrobe, clicked her beak in annoyance. The Eagle owl ignored her completely and instead just fixed Harry with a cold, dark eyed stare. Harry pulled the letter off the owl and looked at it in slightly uneasy amusement.

"I do know where you learnt that stare from, you know," Harry said to the owl, which hooted in indignation. Harry smiled slightly and ripped open the parchment envelope.

He and the Potions Master had reached an awkward truce at the end of the year before and Snape's final comment to him was the guarded possibility of giving him information on what Voldemort was doing. Over their forced month together in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts, they both had found that they had reached an understanding of the other, albeit a strained one. The mutual respect between them had meant Harry felt at last able to reveal the contents of the Prophecy to someone less close to him than either the Weasleys or Hermione.  
_  
Still, _Harry thought, smiling humourlessly._ Who will believe I've revealed the contents to Snape first?  
_  
Even now, Harry still felt the occasional feeling of unease; Snape was Voldemort's right hand man and the Dark Lord's most trusted servant. Harry smirked bitterly as he thought of the wizard he was destined to kill; Voldemort was still heartily convinced Snape was a spy.  
_  
He's right, _Harry realised suddenly in bone chilling realisation._ His only problem is he doesn't know Snape's a spy working against him, rather than for him…  
_  
Back in April, however, Voldemort had called together Snape, Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy to inform them there was a spy in his ranks and given Snape the task of the discovering his betrayer's identity. Harry wouldn't easily forget the look on Snape's face after he had told Harry about Voldemort's discovery of a traitor during a Potions class the year before. Harry felt a wave of trepidation as he read Snape's letter.  
_  
Dear Potter, _

You requested at the end of last term that I informed you of what was taking place in the Wizarding world and I am not one to break my promises.

So far, I have not made contact with the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord has not summoned me to him. Azkaban is still under the control of the Death Eaters and all the captured followers who were originally in Azkaban have been released the Dark Lord. The Vote of No Confidence is set to take place any day now. The murders of the two people in Oxford were caused by Death Eaters and the man who has been arrested was Alfred Walsham; Alastor Moody caught him.

I am similar to when you left me although others may claim otherwise. Ignore them. I remain on the same side as when you left me and nothing will ever change that.

I promise you, one day this will be over and you will have your revenge and I will have mine. He will pay. Dearly. This letter contains a charm which will cause it to catch fire if anyone else touches it but even so, I suggest you keep it away from prying eyes.

Prof. S. Snape

For some reason, Harry wasn't in the least bit comforted by Snape's letter. The idea of Snape wanting revenge unnerved him and what exactly did he mean by _'others may claim otherwise'_? Harry shuddered as he thought back to Snape's role in the events of last term. It was apparent from Snape's slightly shaken writing that he wasn't completely healed from his brutal injuries of the year before and Harry was concerned, not least because Snape had said to ignore what other people said about him.

Harry fell back onto his pillow, the letter held firmly in his hand.  
_  
What was going to happen now? _Harry mused desperately._ With Snape out of action, the Order has lost their spy so Voldemort's got the advantage for the moment…  
_  
Over the week and a half he had been at the Dursleys', Harry had received a couple of letters each from his best friends. Hermione was away on holiday with her parents in Crete and from what Harry could gather from her long letters, she was having a fantastic trip. Ron and Ginny had also written to him and, from what Harry could interpret from their vague letters, they hadn't even got the faintest idea of what was going on with the Order of the Phoenix.  
_'…Everything's the same for us as it was last summer…' _

'… There's nothing to say, really. I hope you're doing OK and having a nice time at the moment with your aunt and uncle…"

Harry snorted in grim amusement. 'A nice time'?! The day he had a nice time while at Privet Drive was the day Voldemort walked up to Albus Dumbledore and gave him a hug and a chocolate bar. Without killing him.

Tiredly, Harry allowed his thoughts to drift back to his last meeting with Ginny and he smiled broadly. At Kings Cross, barely two weeks previously, she had given him a kiss and got him to promise that he wouldn't 'eye up' any other females while she was away.  
_  
Ginny... She really is special…  
_  
To Harry, the youngest Weasley was the only person with whom he could actually forget about Voldemort or, if their conversation drifted towards the Darkness, could laugh him off with a joke. Harry looked at the floor, his mind wandering inevitably, as it had done every day of the holidays, towards Voldemort.  
_  
When is anything going to happen? What is he planning? How much longer must I wait…?  
_  
Harry looked up as a second owl flew in through the window. The unfamiliar, greyish, plain looking owl flew directly onto his shoulder and held out its leg, inviting Harry to take the note coiled round there.  
_  
5:30am, a week before you first met Hagrid. _

Remus Lupin.

Harry grinned in spite of his melancholy musings. If the Order were coming the week before his birthday, he only had another thirty two hours to wait before he could leave Privet Drive forever!

Harry fell back onto his pillows as the owl took off and he closed his eyes, a small smile lighting up his face as he slept peacefully. As the silent watches of the moon drifted across the sky, Harry was blissfully unaware that he was heading straight into the worst day at Privet Drive he had ever had.

* * *

About seventy miles away, someone _did _know what would be befalling Privet Drive and he rested his long, white fingers together as a cruel smirk twisted his lipless mouth. He nodded dismissingly at the nearest Death Eater who bowed and retreated without a word. Voldemort drew out his wand and twirled it slowly in his hand, his red eyes gleaming in anticipation.

He had been too quiet for too long; it was time that Harry woke up to the true realities of war.

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A/N : Ok, not the longest chapter in the world but I hope you liked it all the same. Many thanks to those of you who have stayed with this right through to the sequel and I hope you'll like what's coming. **

As always, reviews are loved and thanks to those of you who do:)

Stormy x


	2. Privet Drive No More

Harry awoke the next morning to the sounds of about ten lawnmowers all at work on Privet Drive. The high temperatures had forced many of the road's inhabitants to rise earlier than they normally would so they could attempt to set their gardens in order before the fierce glare of the sun forced them into the shade of their houses.

Pulling on an old pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt, Harry ambled downstairs thinking dimly of where his cousin was. Dudley had recently taken to leaving the house as early as five o'clock and then only returning for lunch before disappearing again.  
_  
Typical. Dudley will go anywhere for food…  
_  
Even so, Harry still had not discovered where his cousin was sneaking off to and, if he was brutally honest, he didn't really care either.

Harry absentmindedly opened the Dursleys' fridge to retrieve an apple — it was too hot for anything cooked. Just as Harry sat down at the table, a weary looking barn owl flew in through the window with a Daily Prophet coiled in its beak. Harry glanced at the front page and felt his insides turn to ice.  
**

  
NINE DEAD AND FOURTEEN MISSING IN ATTACK ON SOUTHAMPTON  


**_  
The Ministry of Magic released news today that You-Know-Who's followers, known as 'Death Eaters', once again launched an attack although this time they targeted the Wizarding community in the seaside town of Southampton._

Aurors, arriving at the scene shortly after the assault described these recent attacks as 'shocking and pointless'. An Auror, who wishes to remain anonymous for security reasons, described the scene as 'disturbing and brutal. These attacks are proving nothing and achieving nothing. It is strongly advisable that people remain on high alert for any further signs of Death Eater movements'. It is…  
  
"Boy! What are you doing?"

Harry jumped. Aunt Petunia was standing in the doorway with her arms folded and her eyes narrowed.

"Reading the paper," Harry answered tonelessly, not in the mood for his aunt's disgust. "Not a crime, is it?"

"Give that here," she snapped, snatching the paper off him. "What can possibly be so import…" Aunt Petunia stopped abruptly, the unfolded paper falling from her limp hand.

"Yes?" Harry said coolly, picking up the paper from the floor. Harry initially thought his aunt's reaction was solely down the fact the image of the Dark Mark was floating lazily in the sky on the front page but one glance at her wide, horror struck eyes told him otherwise.

"That's _his _doing, isn't it," she whispered, her face white to her lips.

"If you mean by 'his', Voldemort, then yes, those attacks are because of him."  
_  
"Don't say the Dark Lord's name!"  
_  
"Oh, grow up," Harry snapped irritably. "I've been saying his name for years and I'm not…"

He stopped suddenly and Aunt Petunia flushed slightly. "Since when have you been afraid of saying Voldemort's name?" he asked in amazement.

Aunt Petunia glared at him in disgust before answering. "Since last year. When he returned. I thought that after my sister, that would be the end…"

Harry frowned. "He returned two years ago, not last year. I told you that!"

"Be quiet boy."

Harry was not about to be put off so easily; he had no intention of being quiet until he had the answers he wanted. After the events of last year, he had resolutely made the decision that he would no longer allow himself to be kept in the dark about what was happening around him.

"What about…"

"How often has this all been happening?" his Aunt interrupted quietly, looking very much like the time she had had a similar 'talk' with him back in the summer of his fifth year.

"Attacks? All year. Deaths, disappearings, kidnappings, tortures…" Harry answered slowly, staring at his aunt's fearful expression.

"Anyone_ I _know?"

"Deaths and disappearings, no. Kidnappings, yes."

"Who?"

"Me. Last month. I was taken to Azkaban — the Wizard prison. One of my teachers was murdered trying to rescue me and another one was hurt." Harry was surprised as to how calm he sounded but his mother's sister looked uncharacteristically terrified.

"Who?" she repeated softly.

"Minerva McGonagall was killed, Snape was hurt," Harry said as he guiltily looked at the floor.

"How badly?"

Harry jerked his head back up at his aunt again, who had an odd expression twisting her face which looked almost like surprise.

"He was unconscious for a couple of weeks and he lost a lot of blood but he's on the mend now. Why?"

"I'm sorry."

Harry's eyes widened in shock.

_Aunt Petunia's apologising to me…? What's brought all this on?  
_  
Harry was about to say 'How do you know about my world?' but he never got the words out.

"Your mother… I suppose… after what's… you should… I don't think… Vernon won't like it but…"

Harry waited in silence; he'd never seen his aunt looking so awkward in his life. Something told him to stay quiet but he didn't know why his aunt was suddenly telling him this. It seemed that the news of the attacks had jolted her out of her rigorously held mask of feigned ignorance she had used for the years she had known him.

"It was years back now when I first met anyone other than my good for nothing sister from the other world," she murmured, staring at the corner of the table unseeingly. "My sister introduced me to one of her… friends. She was involved with him for a while, I think, when she was about fourteen. She brought him home over the summer for a while. He was nice. Strange; quiet even, but still nice. _In control,_ I suppose, is the best way to describe him. He was never much to look at but he certainly knew how to handle himself. He told me the most about the _other _world. Some of it seemed a bit more than anything my sister had ever told my parents or me."

Harry was stunned. His aunt was sounding _nothing _like her usual snappy, bitter self. It was almost as if someone was impersonating her but the way she twisted her face every time she mentioned 'Lily', 'sister' or 'other world' told him otherwise. Lily's son waited in awe for what was coming while pleading silently that Uncle Vernon wouldn't walk in on them. Aunt Petunia's outbursts, and there had only been two of them prior to this one, were always enlightening in the sense that he had long harboured an idea that his aunt knew more about the Wizarding world than she let on she did.

"Anyway, I spent some time with him when Lily was with Mum and Dad being treated like a princess again and I got to know him. He never told me much about himself but seemed interested in me. He wanted to know about how much _magic_ was in the family and I told him there wasn't any. He seemed to go a bit… distant after that and called Lily something which made her upset. She never let me see him again and blamed me for them breaking up. She ran off with that dreadful Potter soon after. I've never seen my Love since."  
_  
"Love?!"  
_  
His aunt glared at him and seemed to snap out of her almost trance like state as suddenly as she'd fallen into it.

"Go outside and weed the border."

"Who was he?" Harry wasn't about to be put off so easily.  
_  
"Go outside and weed the border."  
_  
"Who…?"

Harry never finished his sentence as a deafening bang echoed through the room and the floor shook. For a moment, Harry was almost certain that he had done wandless magic again by accident. A second loud bang and several screams told him otherwise. A blinding flash of light illuminated the room despite the fact it was daylight and there was an odd crashing noise. Aunt Petunia recovered first.  
_  
No, _Harry thought desperately, fumbling for his wand just as Aunt Petunia ran outside. _No. Not here…  
_  
"Avada Kedavra!" a singsong voice chanted just outside the door.

Aunt Petunia's scream followed along with Uncle Vernon's distant yell of "That's my son, you freak!"

Someone Apparated behind Harry, who spun around with his wand drawn.

"Go, Harry," someone hissed in a voice he didn't recognise. The intruder's face was covered by a dark hood and they seemed surprisingly tall while an aura of power, not unlike Dumbledore, seemed to radiate off them in waves. Aunt Petunia's screams got louder as Vernon's shouts were abruptly silenced.

"Get out, Potter! For Merlin's sake, leave here! The wards will be down any second!"  
_  
"Stup-"  
_  
Whoever was standing in the Dursleys' kitchen forced a small object into his hand before Harry could finish his spell. The Portkey activated just as Aunt Petunia's screams were stopped by a flash of green light which burnt through the room like a torturous flame. The hooded figure bolted out the room as soon as the Portkey activated and Harry was pulled away from Privet Drive feeling sick to his core. As his feet crashed into the floor of the kitchen at Grimmauld Place, Harry started shaking in horror.

Voldemort had played his finest card against him and there was nothing he could do about it.

There was total silence at Grimmauld Place; even Kreacher was absent, having been ordered to work in Hogwarts' kitchens. Harry lowered himself into a chair slowly and just sat motionless in complete silence. Everything had happened so fast that he wasn't quite sure what had happened.

For a good twenty minutes, there was no movement in the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix and it gave Harry a chance to collect his thoughts slightly.  
_  
Who was that man? Why did he help me? I've never met him before…  
_  
Harry replayed the scene in his mind and realised, with a bone shuddering jolt, what had happened to the Dursleys. Anger like nothing he'd ever known coursed through him; Voldemort had just taken the last true link to Harry's family from him. He had no blood relations left.  
_  
Please say that this is just a nightmare…  
_  
A distant sound brought Harry out of his initial shock and he drew his wand, prepared to fight.

"Harry?" Albus Dumbledore swept into the room looking remarkably calm. Harry nodded as his aged Headmaster crouched next to him but refused to look at the light blue eyes which surveyed him intently.

"They broke the wards," Harry said quietly as he continued to stare at a crack in the floor blankly. Dumbledore looked the Boy-Who-Lived with sorrow etched deeply into his lined face.

"They took your uncle and cousin with her," Dumbledore said gently as Harry looked pained. "I was not sure if you knew. I believe they murdered your cousin first, then your uncle and your aunt last of all. I'm so sorry, Harry."

"Who was it?" Harry asked calmly but with the faintest trace of anger in his words. "Who murdered them?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange," someone said icily behind Dumbledore. "I told you this would happen, Dumbledore, and you refused to listen to me."

"Severus..." Dumbledore started, turning around just as Harry looked up to see the scrawny, greasy haired spy standing in the doorway to the hall with his face completely blank except for a small sneer.

Harry started saying something but Snape overrode him smoothly without even the barest of acknowledgements of his presence.

"By the looks of it, they've taken almost everyone in the area with Potter's relatives," the Potions master continued nastily, his face pale and his expression carefully neutral. "They've blown up the whole street. The squib's gone too."

"Mrs Figg?" Harry asked tightly, staring at the floor again. Snape ignored him.

"How many in total, Severus?" Dumbledore said sharply as he watched the spy intently.

"It is impossible to say."

"An estimate?"

"As I said; everyone within a quarter of a mile radius of Privet Drive. I cannot be more specific than that at this stage."

Harry looked up in time to see the Potions master, unmasked but still hooded with a Death Eater's cloak, with a twisted smirk on his thin face. Harry felt a sickening sensation swoop through him at Snape's look of indifference just as the Potions master twitched his left arm almost imperceptibly.

Snape raised one eyebrow questioningly at Dumbledore, who nodded slightly, looking worried.

"Good luck."

Snape, with a curt nod, Disapparated without another word. Not once did he look at the boy he had spent over a month with in the Hospital Wing a few weeks previously. For some reason, Snape's lack of acknowledgement towards him hurt Harry more than he'd have expected it too. For a moment, he forgot what was happening; it had all been so sudden...

"Harry?" Dumbledore said softly. "I think you should go to the Burrow for the remainder of the summer. It is as safe as anywhere for you now and I know Molly and Arthur are happy to let you stay with them. I believe you have experienced side-along Apparition before, have you not?"

Harry nodded stiffly and held out his hand. The last time he'd apparated was when he'd been kidnapped by Death Eaters...

For some reason, the news he was going to the Burrow didn't seem to sound as welcome as he'd have liked. He just felt numb; almost as if he had forgotten how to feel.

"Ok then?" the Headmaster said calmly and he Disapparated to the door of the Burrow, Harry alongside him. Dumbledore held out his hand and knocked twice and Harry distinctly heard someone come over to the door with slightly shuffling footsteps.

"I'll be there in a moment…" Mrs Weasley said without opening the door.

"No rush, Molly," Dumbledore answered. "You know, I think that it's high time I sampled some of your cooking again. I haven't tried your oatcakes for a long time."

"Albus!" Molly said wrenching open the door. "It's so good to see you, and Harry dear!"

Dumbledore nodded again and steered Harry inside the Burrow before Molly shut the door behind them both.

"I didn't know you like oatcakes, Professor," Harry said as Molly gave him a motherly hug.

"I don't," Dumbledore answered with a smile. "It's the password."

"Harry?" a familiar voice said from the doorway.

"Ron?"

"Good to see you, mate," Ron said brightly, stepping over to Harry and slapping him on the back. "I suggest you enjoy the peace while it lasts. Ginny hasn't stopped talking about you or," he added with a sly smile, "about your _goodbye _to her at the station."

Harry blushed as Dumbledore chuckled behind him.

"Ronald!" Mrs Weasley scolded. "If you're not careful I'll tell Harry what Hermione said to you last night."

Ron swallowed and took a step back from his mother looking awkward. Harry started laughing but when he saw Mr Weasley walk into the kitchen looking tired and balder than when Harry had last seen him, the reality of what had happened hit Harry like a sledgehammer. Here were the Weasleys; all nine of them were still alive and well. Why did they escape relatively untouched while he lost everyone?

"Harry?"

It was only then, when Ginny walked in close behind her father, that it truly hit home for Harry what had happened. For the first time, he realised that he now had no one left; every last member of his family had been destroyed; _annihilated _even; by the cruellest wizard who'd ever lived.

"Harry?" Ginny repeated as he went pale.

"What's happened?" Ron said nervously.

"There was an attack on Privet Drive," Dumbledore answered quietly. "Harry's aunt, uncle and cousin have been murdered."

Harry didn't see Molly Weasley start crying, or Ron looking horrified, or Arthur looking shell-shocked. The Boy-Who-Lived was only aware of Ginny's arms wrapped around his neck in comfort as the tears fell from his eyes for the first time since the attack. His tears darkened her pale pink t-shirt to a bitter, bloodlike red in seconds.

As he stood there, his head buried in Ginny's shoulder, Harry vowed that this would be the last time Voldemort took anyone from him, ever again.

* * *

Several hundred miles away, Voldemort was grinning broadly. Harry Potter was running out of places to hide and the protection Dumbledore had originally created was now useless.  
_  
Not much longer, my dear Nagini,_ he hissed quietly. _He is already wavering and this is only the beginning..._

Voldemort looked up as a tall, thin Death Eater stepped into the room and bowed at his feet whispering:

"My Lord, I received your summons and am awaiting your orders."

"Rise, Severus," Voldemort said in his cold voice. The Death Eater stood gracefully and bowed to his master as he did so.

"Severus, are you prepared to risk everything for me?"

There was no detectable hesitation as Snape answered, "Yes, my Lord."

"Good," Voldemort whispered quietly. "I have a task for you which no one else can achieve. When you succeed, you will be greatly honoured among my Death Eaters."

"My life is yours, Master."

Half and hour later, Severus Snape left the Riddle House whiter than an alpine blizzard. If anyone had been there to see, they would have noticed the subtle trace of an emotion darkening his angular features as he Disapparated back to the Order's Headquarters to report to Albus Dumbledore.

For his sake, if nothing else, he hoped they would be alone.

* * *

A/N: As always, I hope you enjoyed that and I'd love to know what you think… Thanks to those of you who do!  



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